The European Union is considering building two undersea cables to connect to Asia via the Arctic. One of these projects proposes to go through Canada’s Northwest Passage, while the other will start in Scandinavia and cut directly through the North Pole. According to The Verge, the EU started looking north after recent turmoil in the Middle East, where 90% of the Europe-Asia internet traffic currently transits, resulting in multiple incidents of cut cables that have led to disruption.
The current situation started in 2024, when a Houthi missile struck a ship transiting the Red Sea through the narrow strait between Yemen and Djibouti. The attack caused the ship to drift aimlessly in the area, and its anchor cut three undersea cables going through the natural chokepoint. It took more than four months of negotiations before a cable repair ship could be brought in to mend the damage without getting attacked itself.
